Top 5 Games Of 2012: Will's List

All three of Gaming Blend's contributors has written their own Top 5 list. Read Pete's list and Ryan's list to find out their picks.

2012 sucked for gamers. It really did. There were so many franchises with their balls cut off that a dog pound full of neutered chihuahuas had more intestinal fortitude than many of the games that shamefully filled the shelves of retailers this year. But nevertheless, there were a few highlights that saved what otherwise would be known as the ball-less, corporate, wallet-raping year of gimped ideas and half-arsed attempts at milking an otherwise grand hobby. So without further ranting on the greedy douche bags and shareholding-pricks that ruined endings to amazing trilogies, quick-time evented one of the most recognized franchises in the industry and DRM'ed, dumbed-down and removed everything that made us fall in love with gaming – as well as move the industry backwards by catering to fickle focus groups – here are the only games that I felt managed to hit the market running without feeling like they were entirely soulless entities whose sole purpose was to try and separate me from my cash.

#1: DayZ

The surprise hit of 2012 easily goes to DayZ. It's a game that came out of nowhere and, in a way, isn't even a game on its own...yet. Led by design contractor Dean “Rocket” Hall, DayZ started as a small time concept mod for Bohemia Interactive's Arma II and eventually evolved into a beast that pushed more than a million sales for Arma II, as gamers clamored to get in on the thrills of the first post-apocalyptic, open-world, zombie-survival game. The harsh conditions of perma-death, getting sick, scavenging for food, weapons, staying warm and finding shelter made DayZ a standout blast from all the safe-as-safe-can-be blockbusters that flooded the market this year. While the mod was riddled with one glitchy bug after another, the overall experience was a huge breath of fresh air and a clear direction of the zombie genre that hasn't been fully explored yet.

Given that the full DayZ is set for 2013, it stands to reason that this game could be on the Top 5 list for next year as well. Without a shadow of a doubt, though, DayZ was the only risk-taking game of the year that had (and still has) people talking about their zombie-apocalypse journeys, trials, tribulations and encounters. The video game social experiment of 2012 was an easy pick for the number one spot.